Yanukovich has already claimed victory, but Tymoshenko has cried foul, accusing him of vote-rigging. The Central Election Commission, which announced these results on Wednesday(February 10), must formally call the result of the election by Feb. 17.

The legal challenge mounted by the charismatic Tymoshenko to the result of Sunday´s vote has raised political tension and could deny the former Soviet republic, battered by economic crisis, a swift return to stability.

Tymoshenko herself stayed out of the public eye for a third straight day, cancelling a weekly government meeting and travelling east to Zaporizhya to attend a funeral.

Yanukovich, a burly 59-year-old ex-mechanic, was also silent. But he received a small psychological boost from news of the final preliminary count by the Central Election Commission.

A key date is Feb. 17 when official results are to be declared and a president-elect -- presumably Yanukovich -- will be named.